Emily’s Comments (group member since Jan 04, 2017)

Emily’s comments from the Around the Year in 52 Books group.

I'll second economically disadvantaged protag!

Suggestions for Poll 7 will go live tomorrow around 11 am EST.

Suggestions will go live tomorrow around 11 am EST

I'm reading Sky Daddy and I'd say it fits that prompt pretty well lolol

Note that I did include the "official" listopia link in the description of our ATY listopia.

Results are posted for Poll 6 - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

We will announce the time for the next round of suggestions by end of the day today (CST).

In a shocking turn of events...

Top
A book by a Korean or Korean-diaspora author
A book from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list

Bottom
A book with a horse as a character

Close Call
A book where the main character has an occupation that didn't exist before 1900
A book where all or part of the action takes place in a library, a courthouse, or another public building

We will announce the time for the next round of suggestions by the end of the day today (CST).

Voting is open for Poll 6! Catch up on the discussion and find the voting link here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Maggie wrote: "Sorry about this, but the grammar in the 14th prompt bothers me. "That's" is "that is" and it doesn't work in this sentence.
Could we change it to "A book whose title and author's first or last nam..."

Maggie, you're right, that's what I get for working on this list while at work. I've updated it to say "whose" instead of "that's".

Voting is open!

I copied over what I could, but had to remove all links because they were all broken. I will add them back in when they update the links!

THOUGHTS AND IDEAS FROM THE SUGGESTIONS THREAD

1. A book with a horse as a character
2026 is the year of the horse in Chinese Zodiac
Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6...

2. A book where the main character has an occupation that didn't exist before 1900
Eg. Anything digital, customer service (call centres), influencer, podcaster, astronaut, geneticist, Paralympian, commercial airline pilot, flight attendant, anything television based, PhD student, book publicist, marketing, climate scientist, etc.

3. A book where one of the characters is a ghost, a spirit, an angel, or an imaginary being
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
https://crimereads.com/ghosts-in-fict...
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
https://bookriot.com/books-about-angels/

4. A book by a Korean or Korean-diaspora author
We’ve had multiple prompts in this group about books set in Japan or by a Japanese author (as well as other specific countries like Ireland but I think only Japan for Asia?). In light of Korean author Han Kang winning the most recent Nobel Prize for Literature for “for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life” (only Korea’s second-ever Nobel Prize win after a Peace Prize in 2000), I think it would be awesome to have a prompt that explores the numerous Korean and Korean-diaspora authors out there. And it would give us a break from only highlighting Japan as the representative East Asian country in literature, especially given its history of occupation of other Asian countries in the 20th century.

I’ve listed examples of books by Korean authors but these are just the books on my TBR or that I’ve read/seen so I’m sure there are a bunch more!

Listed in alphabetical order by last name
- The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
- Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
- Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee
- Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo
- Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung
- Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines
- The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
- To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
- The Vegetarian by Han Kang
- Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum
- The Girl with Seven Names: Escape from North Korea by Hyeonseo Lee
- Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
- Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
- The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
- A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
- The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
- Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

5. A book nominated for an award that values peace, cultural understanding, and related social issues
There are many awards that focus on peace and important social issues throughout the world. My favorite is the Dayton Peace Prize. You may choose one that is most relevant to you, or your region. Some examples are listed below. Please add any others you find this week during the voting period.

Examples:
*The Dayton Literary Peace Prize recognizes the power of the written word to promote peace by honoring adult fiction and non-fiction books that foster understanding of other cultures, peoples, religions, and political viewpoints.
Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
Awards page: https://www.goodreads.com/award/show/...

*Aspen Words Literary Prize: This prize goes to an influential work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture.
https://www.goodreads.com/award/show/...

*Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards: Established in 1935, these awards honor books that have made important contributions to our understanding of racism and human diversity.
https://www.goodreads.com/award/show/...

*Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer 2025 finalists
https://www.goodreads.com/award/show/...
Pulitzer full list of awards and nominees
https://www.goodreads.com/award/show/...

*The Nobel Prizes - books written by or about a Nobel Prize winner (many categories)

Others
* The Creators of Justice Literary Award
* The Moore Prize for Human Rights Writing
* The Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children's Literature
* The International Literacy Association's (ILA) Social Justice Literature Award

7. A book related to a national park
This could be set in a park you love, a setting you enjoy like the mountains or even a reef (Great Barrier Reef) or about a park ranger or hiker.

With over 6000 national parks worldwide in a variety of ecosystems you could make it easy or as hard as you like.

8. A book related to a lion, a witch, or a wardrobe
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...

9. A book with an adult main character who is NOT in paid employment
Listopias/Shelves: some of these characters might be in paid employment, but this is a start
Unemployment in general: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Non-Fiction Poverty: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Ill or hospitalized: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Mental Hospital Novels: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6...
Wealthy: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Retirees: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Senior citizen: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Old People: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
Elderly Villains: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Prison: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Women in Prison Memoirs:https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Lost My Job Romance: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Other categories of possibly unpaid employment or lack of employment:
Stay-at-home parents
Adult caring for an elderly or ill family member
People not working due to: being fired, begin laid off, company closing, war, national financial depression (e.g., The Great Depression), pandemic, etc.

11. A book where all or part of the action takes place in a library, a courthouse, or another public building
Public buildings:
City Halls/Town Halls
Courthouses
Police Stations
Fire Stations
Post Offices
Government Agencies: Buildings housing various government departments (e.g., DMV, social security offices).
Embassies/Consulates
Prisons/Correctional Facilities
Military Bases

Schools and universities
Libraries
Museums
Art Galleries
Theaters/Auditoriums
Community Centers 

Public Works & Utilities
Water Treatment Plants
Sewage Treatment Plants
Power Plants
Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels
Public Parks and Recreation Centers
Hospitals and other public healthcare facilities

12. A book related to “soul”
This could be a book related to “the soul”, “a soul”, with the word soul in the title, books good for the soul, about our souls, soul music, soul food, or even Soul Train!

Soul in the Title:

The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness
Our Souls At Night by Kent Haruf
Soulless (Parasol Protecorate, #1) by GailCariger (Steampunk)
A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy) by Deborah Harkness
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois
Inés of My Soul by Isabel Allende

Good for the soul:

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
The Gift of Imperfection by Brene Brown
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

About our soul:

The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
The Gift of Imperfection by Brene Brown
The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (Hardcover) by Miguel Ruiz
Anatomy of the Soul: Mind, God, and the Afterlife by Stephen Goldberg


Soul Music:

Higher Ground: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, and the Rise and Fall of American Soul by Craig Werner
Otis Redding: An Unfinished Life by Jonathan Gould
The Influential Legends of Soul Music: The Lives of Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, and Stevie Wonder by Charles River Editors
Soul Train - The Music, Dance, and Style of a Generation by Ahmir Questlove Thompson

Soul food:

The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time by Adrian Miller
The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis
The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty

13. A book from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list
https://1001bookreviews.com/the-1001-...
A listopia of the books: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...

It's now time to get ready to vote for our next set of prompts! The thread will be open for at least 24 hours before the poll gets posted. This is a good opportunity to ask any question you may have regarding the prompts, do some research, or ask for recommendations.

Voting will open in the morning of Friday, August 1 and results will be posted in the morning of Tuesday, August 5 (CST time).

How it works:
- When the voting opens, follow the link to the mini-poll that will be added at the end of this post
- You have a total of 8 votes this poll to spread across your favorite and least favorite prompts (you can also use less than 8 votes)
- You can find examples of acceptable voting practices on the Introduction thread.
- The prompts with the more favorable votes (comparing top votes to bottom votes, and looking at the overall number of votes it received) will be added to the final list

We are asking people to include their Goodreads profile address when they vote. To find this, just go to your own profile and then copy the URL/web address. If for some reason you can't link to your Goodreads profile, please post your full Goodreads name with enough identifiable information that we'll be able to access your profile.

Poll Prompts:
1. A book with a horse as a character
2. A book where the main character has an occupation that didn't exist before 1900
3. A book where one of the characters is a ghost, a spirit, an angel, or an imaginary being
4. A book by a Korean or Korean-diaspora author
5. A book nominated for an award that values peace, cultural understanding, and related social issues
6. A book by the author who shows up most on your TBR but is so far unread by you
7. A book related to a national park
8. A book related to a lion, a witch, or a wardrobe
9. A book with an adult main character who is NOT in paid employment
10. A book which features royalty as main characters
11. A book where all or part of the action takes place in a library, a courthouse, or another public building
12. A book related to “soul”
13. A book from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list
14. A book whose title and author's first or last name start with the same letter
15. A book relating to television

Feel free to discuss the prompts below, but please remember to be respectful to the other group members.

Vote here: https://forms.gle/EVXEQ12FmS9BAx7c7

Will adjust wording on the author name prompt to:

A book that's title and author's first or last name start with the same letter

CLOSED

Hey Charlsa, all of the links in the soul post are truncated - likely from copying and pasting the entire post rather than the individual links. Please fix (or whoever you copied it from can post the original with the full links) if you'd like the links in the voting thread!

Emma, do you want to clarify which name (first, last, either)?

3 spots remaining

I'll second royalty!

Halfway there!

updated through 7